American International Journal of Humanities and Social Science (AIJHSS)

Unlike adults, youth spend considerable time in their neighborhood and school settings. Previous research has shed light on the neighborhood context and youth fear of crime relationships. Although efforts of policymakers, school administrators, and parents are aimed at creating school as a safe space, less is known about how youth views of school climate and the interaction between youth views of school and neighborhood problems impact their perceived risk and fear of crime victimization in school settings. This study used Ferraro’s risk assessment framework to understand these relationships better using 3 strategies. First, it examined the association between perceptions of school climate, perceptions of neighborhood problems with fear of crime victimization. It then analyzed the mediating role of perceived risk of victimization on the relationship between perceptions of school climate and youth fear of crime victimization. Finally, it analyzed whether perceptions of neighborhood problems moderated the relationships between perceptions of school climate, perceived risk of victimization and youth fear of crime victimization (N=1224). Results from correlation analysis indicate that perceptions of school climate and perceptions of neighborhood problems are positively correlated with fear of crime victimization. Mediation results suggest that perceived risk of victimization explained the relationship between perceptions of school climate and youth fear of crime victimization. Moderation analysis results suggested that perceptions of neighborhood problems weakened the association between perceptions of school climate and youth perceived risk of victimization. However, perceptions of neighborhood problems did not buffer the relationship between perceptions of school climate and fear of crime victimization.